January 03, 2019

Out with the Old, in with the Emu


Out with the Old, in with the Emu
A Christmas emu escape. The Moscow Times

New Year, New News    

1. The wheels of time continue to turn, and this week we witnessed the passing of another year. Quite a lot happened in Russia this year, and one poll took the opportunity to ask Russians what they thought the most important events of the year were. Both Russians and Putin agreed that the building of the Crimean Bridge (aka the Kerch Strait Bridge) was the event of 2018. Per the poll, this was followed by the increase in retirement age, the presidential elections, the FIFA World Cup, and the Winter Cherry Mall fire. For a bit of a lighter take on the year, The Moscow Times also collected their favorite Russian memes of the year. 

2. A suspected gas blast in Magnitogorsk pitted rescue workers against the -20 degree weather and time on New Year’s Eve. A large residential building was torn apart on the morning of the 31st, killing at least eight and trapping up to 40 more. Vladimir Putin flew to the scene to monitor the rescue efforts. There was some good news to cheer up the somber holiday: a baby boy rescued after 35 hours under the rubble.

3. Looking for Alaska: one lost Alaskan found himself celebrating Christmas in a Moscow detention facility, awaiting deportation. The truly bizarre story of John Martin III started with an attempted voyage to China in an 8-foot sailboat to reunite with his wife and child. The vessel strayed off-course, and Martin ended up in Chukotka. Martin was taken in by a local family, and he spent time giving English lessons and feeding pigeons, until he was sent to a deportation facility in Moscow. Martin remains positive, though, saying he’ll write a book to fund his next attempted trip to China. Frankly, we would buy that. 

Looking for Alaska
John Martin III on his boat. / Jerry Lamont


In Odder News 

Emu who
A holiday emu on the loose. / The Moscow Times
  • How emu-ising… an emu made a daring escape in a Russian Christmas special, and the internet rejoiced
  • Take a bike! One Siberian, disgruntled at a rise in bus fares, protested by taking to his bicycle in the minus 40 degree weather
  • Tarred by their own brush: authorities in a coal-mining region of Russia appear to have painted the polluted snow with white paint, though the ruse did not go unnoticed
     

Quote of the Week


“We recommend Nikita and all residents of Surgut to dress warmer and get to school and work using safer routes.”

— The mayor’s office of Surgut, telling our disgruntled Siberian cyclist to deal with it


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.

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

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.
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...
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.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
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. 
Fearful Majesty

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

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