June 28, 2018

Against Some Odds, Still in the Game!


Against Some Odds, Still in the Game!
A Loss Does Not Mean All Is Lost

1. Russia’s glorious football winning streak ended this week with a three-point loss to Uruguay. But with Russia’s assured participation in the Round of 16, most Russians are pretty content. Some were even relieved by the performance against Uruguay, as they finally recognized the Russian team, which allowed two goals in the first 25 minutes, as their own. In terms of both optimism and accuracy, one Team Russia fan outdid the rest, however, in correctly predicting the scores of Russia’s first two games before the start of the tournament. Upon learning of this, Twitter users quickly set to asking this mystical figure for more predictions: namely, how many kids would they have, what does the future of bitcoin look like, and of course, what will happen after Putin retires?

2. Sometimes all you need to fix a problem is a couple of Croatians in a hole. Two Croatian fans, spying a particularly deep pothole in Nizhny Novgorod, decided to jump in and have a photoshoot. Wanting in on the fun, four Argentinian fans jumped in next. And then, the next day, the pothole was magically filled. This is one of many good deeds that tourists have bestowed on Russia: among other acts, foreigners rescued a man from drowning and saved another man with CPR after a moped accident. Perhaps most notably, fan contingents from Japan, Senegal, and Saudi Arabia took out trash bags and started cleaning the stands after the games they attended. So how do Russians feel about all of these tourists? Well, we think they should be big fans.

Croatians in pothole

Photo: Vkontakte

3. The world somehow still exists outside of the World Cup madness, and in Barnaul nature put on a violent show. Barnaul, a city in Siberia, was hit with a tropical storm last Saturday. The tempest, which led to some stunning images, generated temperatures over 100° Fahrenheit and stripped the city of power. One heroic crane operator remained at his post to move a heavy load away from drivers and pedestrians, an act that led to his own death but saved many lives. Not to be outdone, several Russian cities were treated to the sight of a fiery meteor.

Storm

Photo: Vyacheslav Postnikov

In Odder News:
  • A Rostov-on-Don by any other name… World Cup tourists make some pretty major cartographical errors

  • Spirits are high, but we’re low on drinks: World Cup fans are running cities’ beer stocks dry

  • Football philosophers: the best Russian commentators engage in high-level conversation, even if they do miss a goal here or there

Quote of the Week:

“Ah, that's the Russian team we know.”

— One Twitter user expressed relief during Russia’s match against Uruguay

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

The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
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.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
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.
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.
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.
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.
Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
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.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.

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