January 17, 2023

Dubai is the New Vologda


Dubai is the New Vologda
United Russia deputy and the daughter of defense minister Sergei Shoigu in "Vologda" (Dubai). Denis Dolzhenko, VKontakte

A United Russia legislator has come under fire for bragging about his vacation to Dubai on social media during wartime. As part of the scandal, he lied about his whereabouts, posting a picture with a daughter of Defense Minister General Sergei Shoigu and saying they were in a region of Russia where the temperature was -20ºC, yet he was wearing shorts.

On January 6, Denis Dolzhenko, a member of the legislative assembly of Vologda Oblast, uploaded a selfie to his VKontakte account while on a jog in Dubai. The caption read: "I'm not good at skiing, and running in such cold weather isn't pleasant. I listened to the recommendations of weather forecasters, I warmed up."

However, this didn't fool many. The Vologdian press criticized the legislator's insensitivity in times of war. The Secretary of the General Council of United Russia, Andrey Turchak, promised that Dolzhenko would be punished and deprived of his party card.

The press also noted that Dolzhenko uploaded a picture of himself alongside Ksenia Shoigu, who was promoting her half-marathon "ZaBeg." According to the post, Shoigu's daughter and the legislator were in Vologda. Yet journalists from Sotavision who examined the picture closely pointed out a reflection of the brand name "Louis Féraud." The company has a shop near the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, but nowhere near Vologda. 

Investigative journalist Sergey Yezhov posted on Telegram that the defense minister's daughter has been staying in the $590-a-night Caesars Palace hotel in Dubai since New Year's day. Russian authorities have not commented on Ksenia Shoigu's vacation.

You Might Also Like

Keep Calm and Be Polite
  • January 03, 2023

Keep Calm and Be Polite

The United Russia party has developed a code of conduct for deputies when they are interacting with media.
Let it Go, Let it Go
  • December 30, 2022

Let it Go, Let it Go

Russian men mobilized to fight in Russia's War on Ukraine will be able to freeze and store their sperm for free.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

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.
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.
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

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.
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.
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
Moscow and Muscovites

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

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.

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