February 28, 2019

An ode to men, the opposite of old cat ladies


An ode to men, the opposite of old cat ladies
Happy Defenders of the Fatherland Day! Youtube.

More sex, more people, fewer apartments left to cats?

1. “We must satisfy our women!” said Rustam Minnikhanov, President of Tatarstan. Yes, he means what you think he means. Who needs Putin’s complicated new demographic growth policies, complete with tax breaks and lower mortgage rates for families? Minnikhanov thinks men will be up to the challenge. Starting, perhaps, with Kazan Mayor Ilsor Metshin, whom Minnikhanov singled out for some reason. Because apparently Mr. Metshin’s four children are not enough. 

2. What to get for the man who has everything? Male staff of Gorky Park in Moscow and police in Ulan-Ude, capital of the Republic of Buryatia, both received unusual Defenders of the Fatherland Day presents: strip teases. Authorities did not dance around the issue in either case. The Gorky Park incident is under investigation for what the park’s former art director called a “conscious moral decline.” The female police officer who ordered the strip tease in Buryatia was fired. What exactly is the return policy for strip teases? 

3. It’s not just humans that have been, as the youth say, thirsty. Cats need to drink too. So, when about ten cats were left alone in a St. Petersburg apartment for months following the death of their owner, they figured out how to turn on the faucets. Problem is, the cats “forgot” to turn them off, flooding their neighbors’ homes. The deceased owner reportedly wanted her apartment to be inherited by “some sort of priests,” but in the meantime it was left in the paws of god’s creatures. Now that the cat is out of the bag, the courts will decide the fate of the apartment and the cats will go to a shelter.

In Odder News

From Yekaterinburg to Paris via Berlin./ World Expo 2025 Committee
  • Very well-travelled matryoshka doll sculptures “invaded” Paris in November. 
  • A survivor of the siege of Leningrad turned 850 years old, according to her birthday card from city officials (she’s actually just 80). 
  • “A shrine cannot be used for poisonous substances that destroy the spirit,” said a Krasnoyarsk church representative, objecting to vodka sold in chapel-shaped bottles. We’ll put our spirits in other containers next time.
Suspiciously similar./ Welcomekrsk / Ura.ru

Quote of the Week


“Where will our demographics come from? We need to satisfy our women. I think that our guys won’t refuse.”


Rustam Minnikhanov, President of Tatarstan


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

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
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.
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.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
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.

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