June 27, 2019

Duck, Duck, Owl?


Duck, Duck, Owl?
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s an owl drone! TV Zvezda

Throwback Thursday

Battle of Poltava, painting
The Battle of Poltava by Denis Martens the Younger (1726). / Wikimedia Commons

You might know what happened at the Battle of Poltava 310 years ago today. (Peter the Great routed the Swedish army in an early showing of Russian military might.) But did you know that Pushkin wrote a poem about it and that there’s a Soviet joke about it? Find out more, right here on Russian Life.


Perched on the Ledge Between Foul and Fowl

1. The new dining alfresco. A man sits at home drinking vodka, with a carpet on the wall behind him. But you’re not watching a Soviet film. You’re watching Arseny “Is He a Pest?” on Instagram. And he’s not at home — he’s on the side of a building. Arseny is a performance artist working on a project exploring how a single square meter of space impacts people’s lives. Notwithstanding the Soviet imagery, the project critiques the capitalist penchant to “buy houses in anthills and burden yourself with mortgages for half your life.” In other words, he’s not sweeping any critiques under the carpet.

Man drinking vodka on square-meter platform on side of building
Did he take a magic carpet ride up there? / vreditel_li

2. Giving a duck about ducks. While driving down a Petersburg highway, a driver witnessed a car crash. This was distressing, but the reason they crashed was even worse: A family of ducks was trying to cross the highway. The driver left the car and hurriedly escorted the ducks to the side of the road. However, the baby ducklings couldn’t jump over the curb, and they cried until the mother duck came back to street level. Fortunately, several passerby noticed their plight and lifted the ducklings to safety. They really ducked a catastrophe on this one!


The heroic rescue. / Sergey Karasyov

3. Three hoots for high tech! The latest Russian military drone looks like an owl. Unlike most owls, it looks like it’s permanently screaming, but don’t be fooled: it’s designed to be able to approach up close without being recognized. The drone primarily detects targets using a laser and satellite navigation, so if it flew at night, you could say it’d be a real night owl. And for those who are fans of (f)owl-inspired tech, the military plans to create a falcon-shaped drone that plays the cry of a falcon. Let’s just hope these drones don’t engage in fowl play…

Blog Spotlight

Do you like museums? Do you like tech? Discover some of the best Russian museums that incorporate multimedia technology.

In Odder News

5000-ruble notes
A million, million, million scarlet rubles… / Pixabay

Quote of the Week

“IS IT SERIOUSLY THAT HARD FOR YOU TO USE THE RIGHT FILTERS FOR SWEAR WORDS IN MEDIA????? WOULD IT KILL YOU TO DO THAT????? IS IT THE END OF THE WORLD????? NO, B****, NO!!! SO THEN WHY, @, DON’T YOU USE THE RIGHT FILTER?????!!!! OUR EYES ARE ROLLING, YEAH GO F*** YOURSELF!!!”

— The official Roskomnadzor Twitter account, demonstrating how to correctly self-censor profanities when rage-tweeting

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 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.
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.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
How Russia Got That Way

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part 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.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

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.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
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. 

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.

Russian Rules
November 16, 2011

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.

Steppe
July 15, 2022

Steppe

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.

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.

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices
May 01, 2013

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.

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