November 15, 2018

Whoosh, Bark, and Boo


Whoosh, Bark, and Boo
Easy, Breezy, Beautiful Clean Energy

1. Russia is blowing with the wind, at least when it comes to renewable energy. The Russian electric company RusHydro has opened up a wind farm above the Arctic circle to help one town move away from expensive generators and fuel deliveries. Tiksi, a town of 5,000, will use three particularly hardy wind turbines to offsetits use of diesel by 500 metric tons a year. This project was done with the help of Japanese researchers, in an effort to better supply remote municipalities with a stable source of energy.

2. There’s life in the old dog yet… one dog was recently memorialized for being the true best friend that every person wants, but doesn’t quite deserve. Belyash, a dog in Chelyabinsk, waited for his owner for two years at the last place he saw him, not knowing that his owner had died in a car accident. A few years after the death of Belyash, Chelyabinsk has given him new life through a statue, which portrays the dog in motion, looking for his master. (It’s okay, we’re all crying).

Waiting dog

Photo: tim_miloslavskii

3. What’s scarier than Halloween? Only someone trying to ban Halloween, which is a common pastime in Russia. This year was no different. For example, State Duma deputy Vitaly Milonov said the holiday should be banned, because it is based on Satan and the worship of dark forces. A couple of Hallow-haters claimed that Halloween either encouraged mass shootings or was disrespectful to victims of violence, and to top it off one archpriest said Halloween was for the brainless (to be fair, that is an apt description of zombies). Although most Russians don’t celebrate Halloween to begin with, we personally hope this didn’t dissuade the few that do!

In Odder News:

President Pumpkin

Photo: president_rf

  • This Putin-o’-lantern is something that happened, please take note.

  • Should you be able to eat caviar in prison? A probe into a convicted gang member’s luxe life behind bars aims to find out.

  • Sweet caper: one man stole 18 tons of chocolate to pay off his debts.

Quote of the Week:

“A celebration of unscrupulous and brainless people”

— Archpriest Andrei Tkachev, condemning Halloween and its adherents

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.

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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.
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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.
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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.
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.
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