March 08, 2018

Births, Rebirths, and Nuclear Weapons


Births, Rebirths, and Nuclear Weapons
The Circle of Life for Nukes, Trucks, and Churches

1. New nuclear weapons? Fire away! With your naming suggestions, that is. That’s right, the Russian government is holding what they are literally calling a “name-that-weapon contest” for three new nuclear weapon systems that President Putin unveiled earlier this week. Predictably, suggested names range from the serious (“Volodya”), to the political (“Goodbye America”), to the purely ridiculous (“The Kraken”). The competition is highly reminiscent of a British competition to name a polar research ship, and the runaway winner of that competition was “Boaty McBoatface.” Here’s hoping the resulting names will follow suit and be less bombastic, more bomb-tastic.

2. An old Soviet truck has another shot, or many shots, at a new life. An Italian man is transforming an abandoned Soviet military truck into a massive old-fashioned ambrotype camera and darkroom. This type of photography was invented in the mid-1800s, and Kurt Moser is learning and using the method to capture the Italian Dolomites mountain range and its inhabitants. The project, incidentally, has a pretty flash-y name of its own: “The Lightcatcher.”

Photo: lightcatcher.kurt.moser

3. Cutting out the power for a higher power? No problem. Power lines were taken down from around the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl, located near Vladimir. The church was built in medieval times and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Until recently, huge power lines obstructed and marred views of the beautiful and historic church, but now the church can be viewed in its full and original, pre-electrification glory. Ironically, fewer power lines might make it easier for people to see the light.

Photo: Dmitry Kamshilin

In Odder News:
  • The need for overpriced mediocre coffee as fast as possible is universal: this week the first drive-thru Starbucks in Russia opened in Moscow

  • The British national soccer team asked Russia to build a 6-meter (20-foot!) fence around its World Cup training field in order to keep people from spying. Maybe we should investigate England’s number (00)7 more closely.

  • Speaking of walls: one architect didn’t put any windows in one side of a building because it overlooked an important government official’s estate. Talk about great benefits!

Quote of the Day:

“Nukey McNukeface, Subby McSubface [and] Lasey McLaserface, obviously”

—One online user’s tongue-in-cheek suggestion for the names of the new nuclear weapons.

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This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
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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.
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White Magic

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The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
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Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka
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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.

Faith & Humor
December 01, 2011

Faith & Humor

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.

Life Stories
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Life Stories

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas
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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.

 
The Little Humpbacked Horse
November 03, 2014

The Little Humpbacked Horse

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.

The Samovar Murders
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The Samovar Murders

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At the Circus
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At the Circus

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.

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