June 07, 2018

From Their Smile to Their Heartbeat, Everybody's Hiding Something


From Their Smile to Their Heartbeat, Everybody's Hiding Something

This week we find a kindred spirit in a Kickstarter campaign! David Urban and his team are looking for funds to turn their Kickstarter campaign, Beyond Your World: Into Russia, into a reality. The team is planning a series of videos from across Russia that “take you beyond the headlines, into the culture and natural beauty of Russia.” Their campaign ends next Friday, June 15th, so donate now if the project speaks to you.


That Mona Lisa Smile, Zombie Journalists, and Putin Goes to Austria

1. Is there a smile more mysterious than that of the Mona Lisa? Well, she may have a surprising new competitor in Kim Jong-un. The Russian television show “Vesti Nedeli” apparently photoshopped a slight, mysterious smile onto the face of Kim Jong-un, captured in a photo during his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Pyongyang. It’s not clear why this particular photo was chosen, as there were other moments when the North Korean leader actually was smiling. Maybe the hope is that a smiling visage will encourage smiling (read: peaceful) relations. If that’s the case, everybody should put a bit more effort into keeping a grin on their face!

Photo: Лентач

2. Back from the grave and better than ever! Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko shocked the world not once but twice this week as he died violently and appeared alive later, safe and sound. Apparently, the Ukrainian security service faked his death in an effort to apprehend persons who were actually trying to kill him, and Babchenko maintains that the plot was necessary for his survival. The police claim to have made one arrest in connection with the operation, though it is unclear how the operation led to the arrest. Although internet users have already begun to make resurrection memes about Babchenko, one has to admit that this was a very dead-icated undertaking.

3. All the world’s a stage, and Russian president Vladimir Putin is milking it. Putin was interviewed by Austrian television host Armin Wolf this week, and although the conversation became serious and even tense, Putin got in his fair share of quips and jabs. Highlights include a defense of his shirtless photo ops and a request in German for the host to allow him to finish his sentences. On the more serious side of things, Putin denied the existence of Russian troll farms, maintained that Crimea will not be returned to Ukraine, and scoffed at opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

In Odder News:

Photo: Vkontakte

  • There must be something in the water: the aptly nicknamed “Chameleon River” of St. Petersburg turned a flashy violet this week.

  • Neigh to cars: one Russian official is switching from a car to a horse… and he’s asking for a new parking spot!

  • Another back-from-the-dead story: a Soviet pilot who has been missing for 30 years has been found alive in Afghanistan.

Quote of the Week:

“You said ‘half-naked’ not ‘naked,’ thank God. When I am on vacation I see no need to hide behind the bushes, and there is nothing wrong with that.”

—Vladimir Putin’s response to questions about his shirtless photos

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

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.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
At the Circus

At the Circus

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
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.
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.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
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.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
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.
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.

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