November 03, 2016

False history and forensic literature


False history and forensic literature

Hist, lit, and fed leg

1. With next year as the centenary of the October Revolution (falling on November 7, in the current calendar), Russia’s security council is looking to prevent the falsification of history.One proposal is to create an agency to counter information attacks and distortions of the past by anti-Russian sources (namely, the West). Others say that history should remain in the hands of academics. As the debate goes on, the future of history looks uncertain.

2.You can learn a lot from a dirty piece of paper with a masterpiece written on it. Researchers examining Mikhail Bulgakov’s manuscript of Master and Margarita have found traces of both morphine and proteins linked to kidney disease. It was previously suspected that the morphine may have been planted by the NKVD (the precursor to the KGB). The new research is proof of the pain suffered by the author – and perhaps, the inspiration that accompanied his suffering.

3. Is the “Russian nation” a culture? A territory? A feeling? A profound depth of soul? All that, and maybe a law, too. President Putin has supported proposed federal legislation on the Russian nation and the management of inter-ethnic development." The announcement comes just before Unity Day on November 4, and the nationalists marching to observe the holiday may not share the value of ethnic unity.

In odder news

  • Ivan the Terrible has been sacked. Literally: someone put a sack over the head of Oryol's monument to the 16th-century Tsar.
  • An international team of astronauts – hailing from the U.S., Russia, and Japan – has safely returned after 115 days in space. Now that's putting aside national differences. 
  • There’s magic in the air. At least, 36% of Russians believe there is, according to a recent poll.

Quote of the week

"I note with satisfaction that nearly 80% of the country’s citizens think relations between people of different nationalities are kind and normal."
—President Vladimir Putin on Russia’s improved sense of national unity. He added that several years ago, the figure was only 55%.

Cover image: from the televised Master and Margarita. lenta.ru.

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.

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

Some of Our Books

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

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.
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.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
22 Russian Crosswords

22 Russian Crosswords

Test your knowledge of the Russian language, Russian history and society with these 22 challenging puzzles taken from the pages of Russian Life magazine. Most all the clues are in English, but you must fill in the answers in Russian. If you get stumped, of course all the puzzles have answers printed at the back of the book.
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.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.

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