April 06, 2022

More Facts and Figures from the War


More Facts and Figures from the War
Zelenskyy Lego crafted by Citizen Brick. Citizen Brick

Another round-up of some facts and figures from the Russian War on Ukraine.

Amount of aid a Chicago toymaker raised crafting custom Legos of President Zelenskiy and a Molotov cocktail: $145,000 [NPR]

Amount of aid Ukraine has raised worldwide through private cryptocurrency donations: $70 million. [NYT]

Value of oligarch Viktor Vekselberg's yacht seized this week by Spanish authorities: $90 million [NYT]

Value of another yacht Spain seized last month: $600 million. [NYT]

Estimated number of civilian casualties since February 24: 2,685 [CFR]

Estimated deaths: 1,417 (including 112 children) [Statista]

Estimated number of refugees fleeing Ukraine since February 24: 4.1 million [CFR]

Number of Russian individuals targeted by EU sanctions as of March 15, 2022: 877 [Statista]

Number of Russian entities targeted by sanctions imposed starting from February 22:  708 [Statista]

Number of countries that closed their airspace for Russian airlines: 36 [Statista]

Russian state budget's income shortfall from oil and gas during March: R302 billion [Meduza]

Amount of its oil Europe imports from Russia: 33% [NYT]

Amount of its oil the US imported from Russia, prior to the recent ban: 3% [NYT]

Increase in the global price of wheat since the start of the war: 63% [NYT]

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Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

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The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

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White Magic

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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.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

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93 Untranslatable Russian Words

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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.  
Tolstoy Bilingual

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Woe From Wit (bilingual)
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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.

Life Stories
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Life Stories

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.

Bears in the Caviar
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Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

Steppe
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Fearful Majesty
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Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.

The Latchkey Murders
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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...

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