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

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.  
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

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.
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.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

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.
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
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.

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