March 20, 2023

A Visit Amid Tensions


A Visit Amid Tensions
Vladimir Putin, meeting with permanent members of the Security Council. Russian President, Wikimedia Commons.

This past weekend, Russian President and indicted war criminal Vladimir Putin visited Mariupol in what state the news agency TASS has described as his first visit to the Donbas region. The visit took place at between Saturday night and Sunday morning.

The Kremlin press service described the trip as "a working visit... to inspect a number of locations in the city and talk to local residents." Putin traveled by helicopter into Mariupol before driving around the city. He was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin, who prepared a report on reconstruction work being carried out in and around the ruined city.

The Kremlin press release said that Putin "toured the coastline near a yacht club, and visited the theater and historic sites," and spoke with residents of the Nevskoye Microdistrict, a reconstruction project that the BBC describes as a "Russia-built compound in outer Mariupol."

Mariupol's Ukrainian Mayor-in-exile, Vadym Boychenko, commented on Putin's visit, telling the BBC that "Mariupol is a symbolic place for Putin, because of the fury he inflicted on the city [...] No other city was destroyed like that." The BBC noted that the Mariupol theater was the site of a major Russian bombing while being used as a civilian refuge, resulting in at least 300 civilian deaths.

Meduza reported the reactions of inhabitants of Mariupol to Putin's visit, shared via the Telegram channel Mozhem Ob'yasnit ["We can explain"]. Residents expressed deep mistrust in the visit, with one commenting that "[e]verything is done for the picture on TV, for people in Russia to watch."

You Might Also Like

The Fighters of Azov
  • May 11, 2022

The Fighters of Azov

“Surrender is not an option.” –  Ilya Samoilenko, a 27-year-old officer defending Azov.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

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.
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.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
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.  
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. 

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