April 09, 2019

Estimate, Pray, Light


Estimate, Pray, Light
Northern lights in Murmansk Oblast. Y. Nakanishi 

Few phenomena allow science and faith to coexist so harmoniously as the northern lights. 

On the one hand, northerners have the Aurora Borealis, as it is officially called, down to a science. In brief, particles released by the sun interact with gas in the upper atmosphere, releasing light. NASA tracks this solar weather, and you can get forecasts for it just like you can google whether it will rain today. 

Many companies in destinations like Murmansk, an arctic city in Russia’s far northeast, will offer northern lights tours. The guides keep their eyes half on the road leading away from the city’s light pollution, half on phone apps that offer clues about where it is least cloudy. While none of these guides will make promises that you will see the lights, they can give you a pretty confident “probably,” which is numerically estimated by one company – a particularly pricey one – at 90%. 

They will also bring nice cameras, which can capture much more than the human eye, transforming a plain dark sky into a green shimmer and a visible shimmer into neon. Defying normal rules of nature, as you look at the photos your memories of the northern lights will not fade over time, but will become brighter. 

On the other hand, people believe in the northern lights. I told my bunkmate in the Murmansk hostel, a young woman who said she was a long-distance student from a Saami village and came to the city to take exams, that we were planning to go in search of the lights that night. She asked me if I wanted children. Startled by the question, I said I did. “You need to have them under the northern lights then,” she said confidently. This is considered a good omen among the Saami. At the time I thought she was being ironic. Perhaps not. 

The Saami are the indigenous people of the Kola Peninsula. We visited a tourist-oriented Saami village, and, when shown some totems, I asked our guide about what their traditional beliefs were. The guide’s reply, including an impassioned defense of peaceful, animistic religions as opposed to, in his view, war-causing monotheistic ones, made it clear my use of the past tense was inappropriate. In penance, I purchased one of their talismans that protects travellers.

A totem in the village. / Katrina Keegan

Saami beliefs about the northern lights are naturally extensive. It may be good for newborn children, but that seems to be an exception. According to Saami myths, the northern lights fought on the side of the moon and wild beasts against people and the sun, and are caused by the blood of invisible warriors fighting. Kinder explanations are that the lights are ancestors, or even a fox running through the sky. 

A possibly more modern tale on a website for Saami legends is that the sun fell in love with a beautiful girl named Lights, but the people of the village didn’t want to give her away in marriage, and detained her. The sun got angry and left, causing the polar night. The people apologized and let her go, but the sun, still angry, did not return. But the kind girl offered to shine in his absence. 

When we went looking for the northern lights, our guide was nervous. Forecasts had looked better earlier in the day, and were now falling. We had nearly lost hope until I looked out the window and wondered aloud if that was a greenish cloud, or…? We jumped out of the car. After a half hour of awestruck sky gazing, the tour guide admitted that the forecasts had been even worse than he had let on. According to science, our chances were less than 20%. 

Perhaps I should thank my talisman. 

Read more about the northern lights in Nadezhda Grebennikova’s story of one winter night’s journey through the Kola Peninsula with a photographer, Moscow tourists, Snegorochka and warm boots – one specific night illuminates every long, polar night.

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.
Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
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.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

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.
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.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

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.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

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.
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.
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.
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

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.

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