September 26, 2019

Save Russia by Air, Land and Sea!


Save Russia by Air, Land and Sea!
Now “I am the Walrus” sounds like a veiled Cold War era threat…  Leonid Kruglov | Russian Geographical Society 

Quote of the week

“Yo Gai-gui, save Russia!”

– A push notification sent to users of Moscow metro free wifi. Who sent it? Unknown. Who is Gai-gui? Unknown – maybe something in a southern Russian dialect for a boisterous holiday – but now it is temporary promocode to get ad-free wifi on the metro. 

 

Gotta Walk the Walk (on Thin Ice)

1. NATO, you taking notes? A female walrus attacked and sunk a Russian naval vessel. She was enjoying life on a Far North nature sanctuary with her young calf when she was disturbed by an expedition retracing the path of nineteenth century explorers. Probably fearing for her baby’s life, she attacked a rubber blow-up landing craft (not the main vessel) and successfully caused it to sink, while the crew made a quick escape to safety. No walruses were harmed in the making of this story. 

Caption: Now “I am the Walrus” sounds like a veiled Cold War era threat… / Leonid Kruglov | Russian Geographical Society 

2. Siberian shamans keep trying to exorcise Putin from Russia. In March a shaman from Yakutia set off on foot to Moscow – a two year journey – to banish the “evil spirit” Putin from the Kremlin, and was recently detained in Buryatia on charges of religious extremism. He was joined by a few dozen followers, whom he recommended pause the journey as he goes through the apparently perfectly pleasant and fair legal process. They refused, and continue to march on Moscow with a new shaman leader, seemingly in good spirits. 


The original shaman and his followers camp for the day near Lake Baikal shortly before he was detained. / Aleksandr Gabyshev Shaman | Youtube

3. Russia has officially ratified the Paris Climate Agreement three years after signing it. The announcement coincided with the UN summit on climate change on September 23. According to Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Gordeyev, Russia will adopt laws with concrete measures to reduce emissions above and beyond the Paris Climate Agreement by the end of the year. The country might be a little hot and cold on fighting climate change – on the plus side, new Arctic sea passage; on the downside, fires in Siberia – but with this ratification and promises of further legal action, it seems that Russia has definitively warmed on the idea. 

 

In Odder News

Horse trying to board bus in Russia
Get off your high horse, Voronezh (and bus driver, for refusing an unconventional passenger). Dima Bredov | Vkontakte 
  • You might be now allowed to take your pets on the Moscow metro for free, but please, hold your horses. An unaccompanied horse tried (unsuccessfully) to board a bus in St. Petersburg. 
  • Putin ate bread with sweetened condensed milk. Yes, that was a headline
  • In a shocking upset, St. Petersburg is only the second most arrogant city in Russia. The top place actually goes to Voronezh. (Moscow is in a pitiful 7th place!) 
     

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

Steppe
July 15, 2022

Steppe

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.

A Taste of Russia
November 01, 2012

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.

The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

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.

A Taste of Chekhov
December 24, 2022

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.

White Magic
June 01, 2021

White Magic

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.

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka
November 01, 2012

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.

Life Stories
September 01, 2009

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.

Jews in Service to the Tsar
October 09, 2011

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.

About Us

Russian Life is the 31-year-old publication of an award-winning publishing house that also creates books, 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