May 03, 2018

Flagging Relations, Funny Money, and Floating Laundromats


Flagging Relations, Funny Money, and Floating Laundromats

What Goes Up Must Come Down

1. It’s harder to rally round the flag when you have no flag. Russia is insisting that the United States return the Russian flag to its rightful place on the flagpole at Russia’s seized consulate in Seattle. Oh, and Russia would also like its consulate back. In the meantime, Russia polled Twitter users regarding which American consulate Russia should close, which led to the closing of the (un)lucky American consulate in St. Petersburg. As for the Russian flag, a U.S. diplomat confirmed that it will be returned to Russia. All in all, this is looking to be yet another “banner” year for U.S.-Russia relations.

Photo: Vexillus from Glasgow, Scotland

 

2. The Russian ruble was knocked down a few pegs, literally. Vandals destroyed a monument to the Russian ruble outside the Central Bank branch in Syktyvkar, Russia. The once sleek, glass-and-metal structure is now a pile of glass shards and an overturned ruble sign. This incident hits a little too close to home, as the ruble recently fell against the dollar after newly imposed American sanctions. At press time, the vandals were still unknown, but you can bet your bottom ruble that if caught, they will pay dearly.

Ruble ruckus

Photo: ProГОРОД

 

3. That’s one more item checked off the laundry list! The town of Veliky Ustyug is building floating laundromats at the junction of its two rivers. Keep in mind, these aren’t your everyday American laundromats: these are laundry stations that help people better wash their clothes in the river. There’s even a chance Ded Moroz (Father Frost), Russia’s version of Santa Claus, will give his clothes a good rinse there, as he is rumored to live in the town. If hand washing your clothes with Russia’s Santa doesn’t sound like good clean fun, then we don’t know what does.  

In Odder News:

Tiger hunting

Photo: Kaliningradru

 

  • A whole different animal: a zoo practices catching tigers by dressing up an employee in a tiger costume. Hilarity ensues.

  • A last minute goal is scored as the Samara World Cup stadium is finished the day before its first test match

  • Check out Russian artist Anastasia Bulgakova’s spot-on drawings of different countries as warriors

Quote of the Week:

“Pretty, cold, straightforward and with diplomatic skills of a sewer drain. Still, if you know her a bit, she will show you how warm and loving she can actually be.”

— Anastasia Bulgakova’s description of her personified sci-fi drawing of Russia

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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.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
At the Circus (bilingual)

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Okudzhava Bilingual

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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. 
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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.

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The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

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At the Circus
January 01, 2013

At the Circus

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.

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White Magic
June 01, 2021

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

Woe From Wit (bilingual)
June 20, 2017

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.

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Steppe
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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.

The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

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 Moscow Eccentric
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The Moscow Eccentric

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