September 07, 2017

Fake Countries, Sausages, and Mystery Highways


Fake Countries, Sausages, and Mystery Highways
Of Veishnoria and Vogons

1. All hail Veishnoria! In preparation for the Zapad 2017 joint military exercises later in September, the militaries of Russia and Belarus will be facing off against three fictional Western countries called Veishnoria, Vesbaria, and Lubenia. Inhabitants of Western Belarus have gotten creative in response to Veishnoria’s imagined incursion on their territory, some inventing a flag, currency, national anthem, and state seal for the nation, and at least 6,000 applying for a Veishnorian passport.



2. Forget building a highway through the cosmos and paving over Earth, Hitchhiker’s-Guide-to-the-Galaxy style. In the Nizhny Novgorod region, a homeowner returned to her property after spending time in the city and found a spanking new road paved straight across the premises, with half of her house in disrepair or just plain missing. Local administrators are skeptical and say they’ll have to check it out. These days, you’ve got to let Vogons be Vogons.

3. The start to another school year: get ready for math, science, history, and...propaganda? In the Krasnodar region, Russian education officials are requiring schools to hold five-minute information sessions for all students to discuss what they’ve seen on state-run Channel One. Discussion topics include “Glory to Russia,” “News of the Week,” and “We Live in the Kuban.” It may be a good way to learn about current events, but some think it breaches Russia’s law against propaganda in school.

In Odder News

  • What do you get when you mix space travel, technology, and post-Stalinist Russia? Unique and beautiful architecture. Take a look.

  • The latest tool for quieting the opposition: sausages. Plus, they make a great gift. Here’s why the Russian media is abuzz over bratwurst this week.

  • An eternal underground glacier. Medieval relics. A floating bridge. All this and more modern wonders in Moscow’s new Zaryadye Park.

Quote of the Week

“It was difficult not to see it.”
—An official at the local office of Russia’s State Registration Federal Agency, commenting on the visibility of a house that was partially destroyed to build a highway.

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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.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

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.  
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.
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.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

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. 
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.
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.
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.
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
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.

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