September 20, 2018

Ice Age Part 10, Coming Soon to a Russia Near You


Ice Age Part 10, Coming Soon to a Russia Near You

Let your voice be heard! Russian Life’s documentary Resilience (Переживем) is a contestant in a competition being held by ArtDocFest, and we’d love it if you supported us and the film with your vote. Haven’t had a chance to watch the movie? No problem, watch it here. To vote, join the ArtDocFest Facebook group, go to their poll, and click on the option that reads “Переживем, реж. Михаил Мордасов.” Thank you to all of the documentary’s fans and supporters, and happy voting!

Ice, Ice, Wooly Mammoth Baby

You know the phrase “when wooly mammoths roamed the earth?” Well, it may actually be closer to the present than you think. That’s because Russian scientists are predicting that the cloning of wooly mammoths will be successful in the next 10 years. The wooly mammoths would be recreated from original wooly mammoth cells found in the Siberian permafrost, and they would be birthed by a surrogate elephant mother. Although we’re pretty excited about this, is anyone else getting Jurassic Park vibes?

2. Speaking of cold things, the icy Navalny-Zolotov conflict has been picked up by meme artists across the country. If you didn’t read last week’s newsletter(shame on you!), Russia’s Director of the National Guard, Viktor Zolotov (who also happens to be Putin’s former bodyguard), recently challenged opposition leader Alexei Navalny to a duel after Navalny’s negative video about the National Guard. And, as you may have guessed, the internet is loving it. Memes, such as the one below, are picking up on the humor in this tense situation and running with it. Who knows, maybe they’ll lead to a thaw.

choose your fighter

Photo: Lentach / VKontakte

3. If you’re looking for some warmth in this newsletter, here’s a relationship that appears to be getting less icy by the day. At an economic forum in Vladivostok, President Putin taught Chinese president Xi Jinping how to make blini, Russian pancakes, which they then ate with caviar and followed with vodka. The meeting came just as Russia launched massive war games that included Chinese troops. Really, the only thing that goes better with blini than caviar is a big old pretend fight.

Putin and Xi

Photo: kremlin.ru

In Odder News:
  • It’s finally official: Russia and Ukraine are no longer friends, at least according to a nullified treaty
  • Is it a genius sausage-making life hack, or is it drug paraphernalia? You decide.

  • And you thought there couldn’t be more marches to celebrate the Romanovs. Check out this procession held for Yelizaveta Fyodorovna

Quote of the Week:

“Thanks to cooperation with Korean and Japanese scientists, in my opinion, [cloning a mammoth] will happen in the next decade.”

— Russian scientist Aisen Nikolaev

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.

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Some of Our Books

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.
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.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
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 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.
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.
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. 
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.
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.

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