February 01, 2018

Fights, Oversight, and Voting Rights


Fights, Oversight, and Voting Rights
Warm Weather Brings Hot Tempers

1. Sometimes the best way to have a serious debate is with good old-fashioned fisticuffs. Two prominent Russian journalists got their brawl on during a live radio show while discussing the question, “Is Stalinism a disease that needs to be treated?” One answered with a vehement no and accused the other of “spitting on” Stalin’s victims, and then the fists started flying. The original discussion topic was inspired by the Ministry of Culture’s recent decision to ban the movie The Death of Stalin from Russian theaters for its disrespectful portrayal of Russians. Clearly, Stalin controversy is just as catching as this year’s flu – not to mention as likely to knock you out.

2. It’s 2018, but getting your rubles is starting to feel a little bit like 1984. The private Russian bank Alfa-Bank announced that it will begin tracking the emotions of its customers through special cameras. These cameras will capture and analyze the emotions of the clients and then give service scores to staff. Big Brother – er, Alfa-Bank – claims this will help customers avoid surveys and phone calls. That part doesn’t sound so bad, but let’s hope they can read an “I’m creeped out” face for folks who didn’t sign up for Candid Camera.

3. When they say everyone has a right to vote, they mean every ONE. The Russian diplomatic mission in Pyongyang, North Korea, will be opening a polling station on March 18 for the one and only permanent Russian resident of North Korea, Vladimir Li, to take part in the presidential election. For his part, Mr. Li will be traveling 100 miles from his city of Wonsan to fulfill his democratic duties. And you thought finding your way to the local elementary school to vote was a chore.

In Odder News
  • Two baby bear cubs were rescued in the Tver region, and they are now in the paws-ession of the International Fund for Animal Welfare. As you might imagine, it's unbearably cute.
     
  • A man fished two pike with multiple horns out of the the River Irtysh. What’s the catch with this catch? Pike aren’t supposed to have horns.
  • Unusually warm temperatures across Russia (so, above freezing) are presenting Russians with a strange weather phenomenon: rain.
Quote of the Week

“Is it possible for God’s temple to be built without permission? This is decided from above.”

—Andrei Khobets, a local government official in St. Petersburg, in response to questions about why a new Orthodox church was being built without all of the proper permits.

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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 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.  
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

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.
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.
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Driving Down Russia's Spine

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Jews in Service to the Tsar

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Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

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Okudzhava Bilingual

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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.
Turgenev Bilingual

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