September 07, 2020

Murder, He Meowed


Murder, He Meowed
Working hard, or hardly working? TverNews.ru

The rural Gorodenskaya library in Tver Oblast has lost its most famous employee.

Stepan, a local cat who had spent nearly every day at the library, didn't show up one morning last week. In the words of a local paper, "he had never allowed himself to miss work for so long before." It was soon discovered that he had been killed by a neighbor of his owner, who accused Stepan of using the building's entrance as his personal toilet (we aren't making this up).

Regardless of the manner of his death, Stepan will be missed at the library, where he was well-known and liked by both children and adults, as well as by library staff, who gave him the necessary documentation. Stepan spent his days greeting patrons and participating in library events, but spent the nights with his owner, who lived across the street. He brought a certain level of fame to the small library, and his murder has made international headlines.

You Might Also Like

Herding Cats: Yuri Kuklachyov
  • March 01, 2004

Herding Cats: Yuri Kuklachyov

They say you couldn't train cats. Maybe no one told Yuri Kuklachov, who has been doing it for nearly thirty years.
The Cats Who Guard the Hermitage
  • March 01, 2003

The Cats Who Guard the Hermitage

If you think St. Petersburg's Hermitage museum is famous only for its great collections and masterpieces, you are mistaken. Meet the felines that prowl the basements.
Hermitage Cats
  • March 09, 2006

Hermitage Cats

A look at the cats that guard one of the world's great museums.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

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.
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.
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.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

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.
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.
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.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 

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