December 26, 2022

Mark My Words


Mark My Words
Putin at a press conference on December 21, 2022. Telegram, Kommersant.

A St. Petersburg legislator has asked the Public Prosecution Service of the Russian Federation to criminally charge Russian President Vladimir Putin for violating his own law, by referring to the invasion of Ukraine as a "war."

Putin made the statement in a December 21 Kremlin press conference, saying "Our goal is to end this war." And that is when legislator Nikita Yuferev announced via Twitter his legal action against the president.

When Putin invaded Ukraine on February 24, he called it "a special military operation." Shortly after that, the government criminalized use of the word "voyna" (war) as "spreading fake news" and "discrediting the army," with potential punishment of up to 15 years in jail. A Muscovite municipal legislator was jailed for this "crime" in July.

In his tweet, Yuferev pointed out the president's hypocrisy: "Several thousand people have been convicted for these words about the war." In September, Yuferev was one of a group of St. Petersburg legislators who had a protocol drawn up against them for defaming the army.

You Might Also Like

Dangerous Dreams
  • December 23, 2022

Dangerous Dreams

Russians are being fined for their dreams, "likes," and "silent support."
The New Dissidents
  • August 14, 2012

The New Dissidents

The three women - Maria Alyokhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich & Nadezhda Tolokonnikova - on trial in Russia for "hooliganism" for their punk rock performance in Savior's Cathedral, made long closing statements last week. While people can debate the women's tactics, it is excruciatingly difficult after reading their statements to doubt that the women are serious, thoughtful and extremely articulate critics of authoritarianism in Russia. #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }   #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }  
The Nature of Dissent
  • October 24, 2012

The Nature of Dissent

How should we understand current political dissent in Russia? Russian Life publisher Paul Richardson met with long-time Soviet/Russian political dissident Alexander Skobov to get his views on what is going on in Russia and where things are headed.
A Director Detained
  • October 31, 2022

A Director Detained

Russian playwright Alexei Zhitkovsky has been detained for suspicion of engaging in "extremism."
The Price of Dissent
  • August 14, 2022

The Price of Dissent

A Russian journalist, already arrested for speaking out against the invasion of Ukraine, has had her home raided by authorities.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

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.

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices
May 01, 2013

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.

The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

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.

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...

Murder at the Dacha
July 01, 2013

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.

Fish
February 01, 2010

Fish

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.

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.

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

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. 

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