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.
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.
Moscow and Muscovites

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. 
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
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.
At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
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.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

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

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