March 23, 2017

Grab a Guinness for Orthodoxy


Grab a Guinness for Orthodoxy

Reindeers, retweets, and rocketmen

1. It’s not every guardian of a holy lake that has to battle with oil excavators. But Sergei Kechimov, a Khanty reindeer herder and shaman entrusted with protecting Lake Imlor, has spoken out against extraction companies that he says are damaging the ecosystem and his community’s indigenous way of life. The United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is paying a visit to Imlor to assess the situation, but the oil companies – already having attempted to discredit Kechimov – will fight any attempt to staunch the flow of black gold.

theguardian.com

2. The Russian Embassy in the United Kingdom is encouraging its followers to gain and share knowledge about the Russian Embassy – or in other words, become Twitter bots. By joining Ambassador Alexander Yakovenko’s Russian diplomatic online club, members’ accounts will automatically retweet one of Yakovenko’s tweets each week. The “Tweetsquad” has under 500 members, with fully automated bots outnumbering the semi-automated retweeters who have joined the squad.

3. There’s no harsher contrast to a life dreaming of the stars than a tragic demise in a prison cell bathroom. This was the fate of Vladimir Yevdokimov, former executive director of the Russian space agency, Roskosmos, who was being held in pre-trial detention after being arrested on charges of embezzlement in December. A murder investigation has begun, with some suspecting a contract killing ordered by other space industry officials implicated in corruption charges, who feared Yevdokimov might be used as a witness against them.  

In Odder News

  • St. Patrick’s Day will be celebrated in Russia on March 30, rather than March 17. But don’t look for leprechauns: Russian Orthodoxy is making it a festival all their own.
rbth.com
  • Bad news for shoes: with economic woes continuing, annual Russian shoe purchases are at 2.5 pairs per person. Perhaps a St. Patty’s Guinness is in higher demand.
  • In a bid to evaluate airline quality, Aeroflot plans to hire “secret passengers.” Presumably, it’s the evaluations that will be secret, unless the passengers are planning on stowing away.

Quote of the Week

"A pint of Guinness has only 198 kilocalories, which is less than orange juice or skim milk. You will understand why I am saying this and how this is related to the decision the Holy Synod made today after a short break.”
—Alexander Volkov, Patriarch Kirill's press secretary Alexander Volkov, in a Facebook post raffling off a cartload of Guinness in preparation for Russia’s St. Patrick’s Day.

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

White Magic

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.
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.
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.
Russian Rules

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.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

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.
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.
A Taste of Chekhov

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.
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 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.

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