April 20, 2017

Counterfeit TP and Commuting By Ball


Counterfeit TP and Commuting By Ball

Ice, Ice, Baby

1. In the northernmost Arctic, an enormous Russian flag disrupts the expanse of snow. Is it a frozen mirage? Nope: it’s Russia’s newest and northernmost military complex, Arctic Shamrock, of which you can take a 3D tour here. Russia’s Arctic military presence aims at keeping tabs on other countries’ military activity and maintaining control of the region’s resources and the Northern Sea Route. And, on top of bolstering Russia’s Arctic presence, there will be ping pong.

rbth.com

2. How do you have an election when there are no candidates? That’s the question the Siberian city of Omsk is dealing with after all candidates withdrew from its mayoral election. To be fair, “all” was two, since Omsk’s electoral process involves the Commission for Mayoral Election selecting two candidates out of sixteen for a final round. After the selected candidates withdrew, the City Council declared the election invalid, and, for the first time, will be in charge of appointing a mayor for the city.

3. Counterfeit money wasn’t made by the mint. Counterfeit cheese gives a whiff of palm oil. But counterfeit toilet paper opens a whole new line of questions. In this case, however, the renegade rolls were manufactured in a facility in the Chelyabinsk region and sold under the label of a well known-brand, The discovery of the forged paper products was part of a wide sweep to discover and suppress the illegal production and dissemination of goods sold with false branding.

In Odder News

One way to beat traffic: roll through the streets in a giant inflatable ball (it's called a zorb). Yes, there’s a video.

rbth.com

Art of the Soviet avant-garde, smuggled to Uzbekistan on trains and trucks, is now part of a massive exhibit in Moscow. Get a sneak peak.

themoscowtimes.com

How do Russians celebrate Easter? With giant eggs, cakes and candies, religious services, and much more.

themoscowtimes.com

Controversy of the Week

Hold your breath (and your sequined outfit) – Russia will not be participating in Eurovision this year. After Ukrainian authorities effectively banned Russia’s contestant, Julia Samoilova, from participating, based on her having traveled to Crimea, Russia’s Channel One announced that it will not broadcast this year’s contest. The decision brings a layer of politics to a competition that’s usually about special effects and outrageous costumes.

Quote of the Week

    “One of the criticisms that Eurovision always gets is that it’s just kitsch and doesn’t mean anything. If you restrict that space further and take a harder line on what counts as political, you chip away more and more at the things that popular music can actually be about."
    —Catherine Baker, a historian who has written academic work about Eurovision, on the damaging impact of the increasingly political focus of the contest.

    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

    Jews in Service to the Tsar
    October 09, 2011

    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.

    Moscow and Muscovites
    November 26, 2013

    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. 

    A Taste of Chekhov
    December 24, 2022

    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.

    Woe From Wit (bilingual)
    June 20, 2017

    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.

    Life Stories
    September 01, 2009

    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.

    White Magic
    June 01, 2021

    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.

    The Moscow Eccentric
    December 01, 2016

    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.

    Fish
    February 01, 2010

    Fish

    This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.

    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