December 07, 2017

Presidents, Olympians, and Feathered Friends


Presidents, Olympians, and Feathered Friends
Competitions: Political, Athletic, and For the Birds

1. Surprise, surprise! Present President Vladimir Putin has announced his bid to run for the presidency in 2018. This would be his fourth term, and would last until 2024. At an event for volunteers in Moscow on Wednesday, he said he would run if the people supported him. At an event later that day at the Gorky Automobile Factory in Nizhny Novgorod, he officially announced his intention to run for president.

2. It’s a sad day for Olympics lovers. Allegations that Russian athletes are guilty of doping have led to Russian athletes being banned from the 2018 winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The only athletes who will be permitted to take part are those with a clean record, and they’ll have to compete under a neutral flag. Debates are raging: is Russia being unfairly blamed, or rightfully punished? What do athletes have to say? And is anger at the ban warranted? If only the debates could be a new competitive sport of their own.

3. Swan Lake needs a new house. The structure dedicated to the swans of Gorky Park is rundown, and construction of a new one would cost about 4 million rubles. The Moscow Prosecutor’s Office ruled that the proposed cost for the construction was impractically high, noting that the price is not too far off from that of a Moscow apartment. Our furry and feathered friends may be lovable enough to be funded, but however much you value swan housing, that amount for a swans’ house is not for the birds.

http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&sl=ru&tl=en&u=%20https://www.rbc.ru/society/04/12/2017/5a24f8c89a79470db4acfc68?from=main&utm_source=Russian+Life&utm_campaign=d4eba22a23-Russia_File&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_2e99ba62b2-d4eba22a23-191272545&goal=0_2e99ba62b2-d4eba22a23-191272545&mc_cid=d4eba22a23&mc_eid=d9cedee7c1

In Odder News
  • Russia’s absence from the 2018 Olympics is disheartening, and maybe the best way to deal with disappointment is by making light of it. Here are Russian social media’s top jokes about the Olympic ban.
  • Election question: does the 8 in 2018 represent Putin’s infinite rule, Sobchak’s glasses (or female attributes), or Navalny’s criminal record? Look at the art and interpret as you will.

  • Planning on visiting St. Pete with your pooch in tow? Think again. Here’s what’s behind Russia’s airplane ban on cats and doggies.

Quote of the Week

"So, today in this room, everyone without exception supports you. Vladimir Vladimirovich, make us a gift, announce your decision. Because we are for you, GAZ is for you."
—An employee of the Gorky Automobile Plant (GAZ) imploring Vladimir Putin to run for a fourth term as president.

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.
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.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
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.
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.
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.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 

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