July 20, 2021

Doses Down the Drain


Doses Down the Drain
Who knew there was so much money in the fear of needles? The Russian Life files.

While no one really loves getting vaccinations, it's probably a good idea to get them. They even have "light" options if you're watching your caloric intake (not really). But apparently, there's money to be had by faking it when people really, really don't like needles.

A Kaliningrad clinic employee is in custody and under investigation after it was discovered that she was selling completed, certified COVID vaccination cards to locals who wanted to avoid the actual thing. She is charged with forging twenty sets of documents, which all purported that paid customers of hers were fully vaccinated.

Her defense was that she was simply "providing an unofficial service" by "vaccinating without injections," pouring the vaccines down the sink, presumably to boost the immunity of the sewer alligators. It just so happens that this selfless public service for the reptiles also conveniently destroyed evidence of her crime.

If only her patrons knew what doctors recommend for post-vaccination activities.

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Survival Russian
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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.

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Woe From Wit (bilingual)

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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.

 
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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.

Driving Down Russia's Spine
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The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 

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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.

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka
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Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

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Faith & Humor
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