July 18, 2023

Laughter Amid Tears


Laughter Amid Tears
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis opening the summit of the North Atlantic Fellas Organization (NAFO) in Vilnius. Kvist.P, Twitter.

On July 11 and 12, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) held a historic summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. But, the Lithuanian capital also hosted a summit for the North Atlantic Fellas Organization (NAFO), a social media movement dedicated to combatting Russian propaganda and disinformation on the war in Ukraine.

Know Your Meme explains that NAFO’s main arsenal is it’s s***posting of Shiba Inu and Cheems, which helps fundraise for war-relief efforts. Since their emergence on March 24, 2022, the collective has engaged in viral Twitter warfare with Russia Today and Russian Foreign Service Agent Mikhail Ulyanov, who wound up retreating from the Twittersphere temporarily.

On July 8, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis delivered the opening speech to the Twitter activists' two-day summit with the words “NAFO is about laughter, but you are not just a joke.” Estonian Prime Minister Kaya Callas graced the conference with a video for attendees. In her address, she said “NAFO is a living example of how to disarm Russian disinformation with humor, intelligence, and enthusiasm.“ The summit also served as a fundraiser for the Ukrainian Army.

NAFO has been criticized by Alexei Navalny’s camp as well as by the Press Secretary for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, for making a series of memes about the death of a Russian citizen in Egypt after a shark attack. NAFO included an inflatable shark on stage at the conference.

You Might Also Like

Eat. Bake. Protest.
  • January 25, 2023

Eat. Bake. Protest.

How a woman from Moscow turned a cake business into an anti-war protest and helped charities.
Memes For Our Times

Memes For Our Times

We explain ten recent memes that best capture the current sociopolitical mood across a large subset of Russian society.
Undesirable News
  • June 28, 2023

Undesirable News

The Russian Prosecutor General's has declared Novaya Gazeta Europe "undesirable" due to its independent reporting.
Military Against War
  • June 19, 2023

Military Against War

The Russian military has created a secret anti-Putin organization that is fighting against the dictatorship and opposes the war with Ukraine.
Dance Floor Dissent
  • May 26, 2023

Dance Floor Dissent

A video of people singing pro-Ukraine lyrics prompted government intervention.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
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.
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.
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.
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.  
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
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.
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 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...

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